Vitamin D Deficient?

[amybeth]

I've just gotten back bloodwork that shows I am Vitamin D deficient.

The doc wants me to take supplemental vitamins for a couple of months and then re-test my levels.

Is anyone taking or aware of a Vitamin D pill that is gluten-free?

I am also looking for items to add into my diet that will help improve my Vit D. Not sure what's causing the deficiency...(oh, and I should mention, I don't really eat fish - I just dislike it.)

I'd really appreciate any input you can give me!

Thanks!

[VioletBlue]

I take a NatureMade D supplement that is gluten free. There are other makers like Natrol and NOW who's supplements are gluten free. There are a couple different kinds of D supplements. There is some research that says some absorb better than others. The best source of D I've been told is sunshine. The body manufactures D as a result of exposure to sunlight. People typically get most of their D from sunshine not foods.

Violet

I've just gotten back bloodwork that shows I am Vitamin D deficient.

The doc wants me to take supplemental vitamins for a couple of months and then re-test my levels.

Is anyone taking or aware of a Vitamin D pill that is gluten-free?

I am also looking for items to add into my diet that will help improve my Vit D. Not sure what's causing the deficiency...(oh, and I should mention, I don't really eat fish - I just dislike it.)

I'd really appreciate any input you can give me!

Thanks!

[Green12]

I take a liquid Vitamin D supplement, I can't recall the brand but I will check on that and get back to you.

I also take Cod liver oil, which is rich in vitamin D.

The foods with the highest amounts of naturally ocurring Vit D are fish and eggs.

It is also good to get 5-15 minutes of sun exposure (without sun screen) like Violet mentioned

[tarnalberry]

I thought I replied, but must have messed that up.

Anywho...

I don't have a brand recommendation, but a D3 supplement is the way to go.

Sunlight is the better way (as mentioned, 10-15 min/day without sunscreen), but right now, at your latitude, you're not going to get enough UV-B to produce much D, so don't rely on that until spring. You can build up a 'reserve' over the summer, too. (Don't forget to have as much exposed skin as possible when going out in the sun - it's the skin that produces the D, so if you have your arms and legs covered, you won't be producing a lot of D!)

[amybeth]

Thank you, thank you !

We would like to conceive, so I'm hoping to resolve ASAP. Doc wants me to take 400 units/day for 2 months and then retest. The prenatal I had purchased a while back has that much D in it, it turns out, so I'm going to take that now.

Also getting appts with GI and follow-up with GP to make sure that 400 will do the trick.

I really appreciate everyone's feedback!

Cod liver oil - ick! But I bet I could suffer through it, if needs be.

Amy

[frec]

I'm taking Pure Encapsulations--5,000 IU of D3 a day. I was taking 10,000. My blood tests show I am still low but improving--I was surprised considering how much I have been taking. Make sure it is D3.

[hayley3]

I am curious to see how your vitamin D levels are in two months.

I'm also low and the Dr is giving me 50,000 iu for 6 weeks. I have heard 400 is too low, so I wonder if it will bring up your level to normal. I just read we should be taking 2000 iu.

Please let us know.

[kb8ogn]

I am also on 50,0000iu a week for low vitamin D.

My doctor wrote a prescription for me.

[arc]

400 IU a day isn't nearly enough to overcome a deficit. It is enough to prevent rickets and that's about it.

If you get a supplement, make sure it is D3 and not D2 as the D2 isn't nearly as effective and runs some risks for overdose.

There is a lot of good info here: Open Original Shared Link

[amybeth]

Thank you all for your feedback!

After a phonecall to the doctor - and a reminder that I have celiac, he agreed that I should take a higher dosage, although I'm still not sure that it's high enough given the level of my deficiency. I have a phone call in and an up-coming appointment scheduled with my GI to get his take on the low Vit D........I've been on the diet for some time now, so I'm surprised to find such a low number on the blood work.

Hopefully we'll get this figured out soon.

I appreciate everyone's insight, links, and information!

It still shocks me how much I have to take control of my care. I mean, I know that I'm responsible for my health, but one would think their doctor would act in their best interest........

Fingers crossed for some good answers, soon!

Thanks, again!

[rock on]

I agree with those saying D3 is the way to go. My husband & I went through this whole vitamin D issue about a year ago & found that no doctors that we dealt with could give us a definitive answer about which type of vitamin d works best....his doctor prescribed him a vitamin d pill of 50,000 iu for a few weeks, but it was D2...not D3. So...after lots of research, now both take 1000 ius of D3. My husband's mother spoke with a doctor friend of hers who has celiac & he said that he'd heard that the CVS pharmacy brand of D3 is one of the most easily absorbed by the body. So, that's what we take. My husband is due to have his levels tested soon...guess we'll see how they're doing.

Did you happen to see the doctor on Oprah the other day? She said that she thinks people should be taking 2000 IUs a day. I just saw Dr. Weil on tv today (Martha Stewart) & he said that you should be taking 1000 IUs to a woman who asked whether she should be taking calcium supplements. So, I bet if you have a deficiency of vitamin D, then you'd want to at the very minimum be taking 1000 IUs.

I've also heard that Bio-D-Mulsion is a good one to take...not sure if it's gluten-free.

[tarnalberry]

A recent study suggests that vitamin D supplementation via supplements or diet (anything other than sunlight) - even for the deficient - may not be all it's cracked up to be.

Open Original Shared Link

Of course, if you are in a high enough latitude that you *can't* generate D from sunlight, and are unwilling to go to a tanning salon (not that they're that effective for D production, since they're primarily aimed at tanning), a temporary measure might be better than nothing?? Though... I tell ya, epigentics is getting confusing!

[hayley3]

Well that sucks.

But I wish there was more info on how they did the testing and what levels of vitamin D and what kind of vitamin D, what diseases the patients had, etc. They say, "The comprehensive studies are just not showing that supplementary vitamin D makes people healthier." That means to me, that they feel it's a cure-all for the patient without the patient changing their diet or anything. If a celiac patient didn't change their diet then obviously it wouldn't matter if they took vitamin D or not because they're not going to absorb it.

I just wish there was more specifics on how they did the study.

Till I hear more, I'll be taking mine.

[holiday16]

Here's the one that was recommended to me when my D was low:

Open Original Shared Link

It works great and I like it because it doesn't taste quite so bad. I can put it on something and take it that way which makes it much easier. I was borderline deficient when I was tested and was put on 8000 IU per day for 2-3 months and that worked.

You have to be careful with so many supplements because they are just not bioavailable for many reasons one being because so many vitamins are synthetic. As one Dr. explained it it's like a mirror image of the real thing and he compared it to trying to put a left handed glove on your right hand. It just doesn't fit. That's the same reason d2 doesn't work like d3 does. This is the case with the majority of vitamins even in the health food stores. I used to have a list of what to look for in a supplement to determine quality, but I can't find it right now. I do remember one thing was to look for biotin and see if it contains 100% It's very expensive to produce so most companies leave it out or put it at 10%.

One thing that is interesting is to put a pill in water and it's supposed to dissolve within 20-30 minutes. We did this with centrum or something like that except we put it in vinegar. Even overnight it never dissolved. Some companies have changed formulations so they will dissolve now, but if it's synthetic you're still not able to absorb what you should.

Just some information to pass on as to why some people take supplements and don't notice a difference. Very much the case with Centrum and others like that.

[holiday16]

Well that sucks.

But I wish there was more info on how they did the testing and what levels of vitamin D and what kind of vitamin D, what diseases the patients had, etc. They say, "The comprehensive studies are just not showing that supplementary vitamin D makes people healthier." That means to me, that they feel it's a cure-all for the patient without the patient changing their diet or anything. If a celiac patient didn't change their diet then obviously it wouldn't matter if they took vitamin D or not because they're not going to absorb it.

I just wish there was more specifics on how they did the study.

Till I hear more, I'll be taking mine.

Good points. I was talking with my Dr. about studies and he says they pick them apart all the time and find flaws. My internist mentioned that about 80% of the ones published are poor studies and that was a big improvement compared to how many in the past were bad. Very scary when you really think about it.